


you smiled discretely, stole me completely

by TheGodWith5Yen



Series: Building the Universe [4]
Category: DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Kinda, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 06:19:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13452300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGodWith5Yen/pseuds/TheGodWith5Yen
Summary: 2017. Roy Harper's completely normal day with his not-really-kinda-sorta-boyfriend Jason.(+ okay, maybe he'll finally admit to whatever feeling he's feeling in his chest)





	you smiled discretely, stole me completely

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this one for a bit so I hope you all enjoy. Title is from Undercover by Nightmare and the Cat.

**_October 20, 2017_ **

Jason’s thighs trembled, tightening around Roy’s head, his hands gripped at his hair. Roy glanced up and smirked at the face Jay was making- blissed out, his pretty mouth forming a silent ‘oh’ of pleasure. As his climax ended, Roy finally pulled away and laid his head on his- boyfriend's?- Jason’s (yeah, that’s safe) broad, solid chest. 

They were silent for a few minutes, Jason running his hands on Roy’s hair, face, shoulders. It was nice. Finally, Jason asked, “Want me to share the favor?” Roy could somehow physically hear the smirk in his voice. Roy thought it over before shaking his head no the best he could while his face was buried into his lover’s (ugh, he hated that word) chest. 

“Not feeling it? Maybe later?” 

“Mmm, that’s cool.” Jason tapped his shoulder twice, so Roy rolled off of him, now face down on the bed. He crawled up, chin against the pillows, and watched Jay from the corner of his eye. Jason was reaching into the drawer of the nightstand to grab his daily planner. It was a cute little thing Lian had begged for, but had left it at the apartment and promptly forgot about. It had little pink flowers on the cover and inspirational quotes on each page. Sometimes Jason would highlight them or stare at them until Roy shook him out of his thinking.

“It’s friday, so all the bats are out on patrol. I might step out, not entirely sure yet. Might not, since we have Lian this weekend. Are we picking her up at Paula’s or at the school?” Jason asked, doodling in the margin of the book as he glanced at the schedule he had written down. 

Roy huffed a breath through his nose, but indulged Jason. He knew if he didn’t get through it now, he’d be worried about it later. “I told Paula I’d get her at the school, make it easier for her. I’ll call her beforehand though just to be sure.” Jason hummed and jotted something down. 

Sometimes, Roy couldn’t believe this was his life now- domestic living with Jason Peter Todd, the Red Hood, the self proclaimed estranged son of Batman. Their relationship had started as a way to pass the time and a way to keep away bad nights after bad days. They would stay together all night, and eventually, on some days, nothing sexual occurred. They would just lay together and  _ be _ . It had been all too new for Roy, whose last stable relationship was a few odd months with Donna Troy. And it had never been anything like now, with Jay. Now was so different. Sweet, soft… confusing.

After the three of them had decided to call it quits on the Outlaws, agreeing their desires were unhealthy and unstable, Roy had decided to rent a place in Gotham. It was far away from Star City, safe enough (considering), and close to where Lian was living with her grandmother and aunt (Roy was still on his way for his recovery, and although Paula insisted he was better and she trusted him to take care of Lian more, his doubts still played over and over in his head). Jason had helped him choose a place, in a relatively safe neighborhood, with few vices that could draw Roy in. When it came time to move, Jason once again helped and just sort of… never left. 

Everything was so domestic and so unlike anything Roy had ever been around and been in. 

He loved it. And maybe even… 

But how could he say it? What if, to Jason, their relationship didn’t mean as much as it did to Roy? Was it still only a warm bed and a good fuck for him? Maybe, maybe Jason did feel the same way, to an extent. But, he was young, twenty-three years old, and why would he want to stay with an ex-drug addict, alcoholic, almost thirty year old man. 

So, Roy stayed silent, but marveled in the little moments. Like now, as Jason set down his planner and placed his head next to Roy’s. His eyes were shining and small smile was on his face. His pretty lips moved and he asked, “Want some breakfast?” 

How did God, or whoever the fuck controlled the universe, create someone so fucking perfect as Jason Todd? 

Sure, Jason would say otherwise. Growl something about how fucked up he was- from his mental health to the scars on his body to his personality. And, yeah, Roy acknowledged all that shit, cause he had fucking baggage too. But despite all that, and for all that, Jason was perfect. 

Maybe Roy was reading too much of Jason’s stupid books. 

He caressed the white patch of skin on Jay’s forehead, and the little white curls, pulling on them lightly. 

“Yeah, you make some bombass food. Product of Pennyworth, huh?” Roy pulled his hand away and rolled over to stand up. 

“My true mentor- Alfred. You’ve learned all my bat-secrets, now. No going back, man.” Jason laughed as he practically jumped off the bed to their dresser. There, he pulled out some boxer briefs and that damn Wonder Woman hoodie he wore almost every day. He slipped on his clothes, whistling. “Okay, imma make some food. I’ll call you when it’s done.” 

How do you tell someone you might be totally and absolutely in love with them? Roy heaved a sigh as he grabbed his phone and typed out a text to Dinah.  _ ‘Hey, how tf do i twll hot guy i wanna b wit h him forver?????’  _ He throw his phone aside, not anticipating an answer anytime soon. Leaguers were always busy with some shit or another. Being an independent vigilante was better than anything, more freetime, more of a life that didn’t involve time travel and other dimensions or some shit like that. 

Roy stood up, stretched his arms, hearing a few pops and cracks that only gave him a moment of worry before he shrugged and went to find a shirt. He grabbed a soft sweatshirt from Jason. He was thicker than Roy, though they were about the same height, but everything of his fit a bit big and loose, which was fun. 

Upbeat music played softly from the small speaker on the kitchen counter. It took a second for Roy to mentally register that the words were spanish and not english. 

“This isn’t  _ Gasolina.  _ Or Enrique Iglesias.” Roy yawned as he slid onto the counter, his eyes on Jay’s thick thighs. Small, shiny, slit shaped white scars could be seen just below the hem of his briefs. A large, white scar on his knee that was almost a perfect circle. Roy focused on those thighs, though, and how they felt pressed tight against his head and Jason’s hands through his hair. 

“Fuck you Harper.” Jason replied as he slipped eggs onto a plate, and reached into the small oven to grab some toasty, buttery bread. Roy moaned in anticipation just seeing the food. Beautiful. 

“Well, that is preferable,” Roy answered with a grin. 

“Too bad, no sex today.” Jason dropped the plate of food in front of Roy. His dark hand settled on Roy’s for a moment before he let go to grab his own plate. Roy mumbled and complained for show as he ate. As always, the food was great, which Roy told Jay multiple times, earning himself one of Jason’s small, real, happy smiles. They mildly talked about their plans for the day before picking up Lian- Jason was going to go punk out some drug dealers for an hour or two while Roy was going to work on some arrow designs. 

“You gonna do that one thing?” Jason asked as Roy set their plates in the sink. He rested his upper body on their counter, watching Roy with observant, bat eyes. 

‘That one thing’ was an arrow head design Roy had been working on since he was a teenager. He was finally getting it done now, almost a decade after his idea since he was finally in the right mindset and had time on his hands. The idea was to create an arrow with substances that could temporarily solidify and trap a criminal- only low criminals for these arrows. He also had some plans to create something to honor his ancestry but hasn’t been able to decide on what just yet.  

Roy nodded, “Yeah. Kinda excited. Been collaborating with Connor, a bit. Mostly through Artemis and Dinah of course. Think we might have something solid here, finally. What time you heading out?” 

Jason stood up, brought his arms up to cross them, resting his hands under his armpits, like a fucking dork. He blew out a breath. “Uh, I’m thinking nine, get back at eleven. Eat. Then get you up to pick up the baby. Oh, maybe pick up some groceries before then? We’re running out of bread and cheese and crap.” 

Roy hummed his acknowledgement of their diminishing food (“Your very survival Harper, swear all you make are grilled cheeses”) as he made his way over to the beautiful man. He placed his pale hands over Jason’s dark wrists. “Hey.” 

“Hey?” Jason raised his eyebrows in question. 

“Thanks for being here.” He pressed a small, chaste kiss to Jason’s lips, leaning back with a cheeky grin on his face. His not-boyfriend-but-hot-damn-did-he-want-it-to-be-that gave that sweet little smile. Boyish and cute, a hint of the kid he was before shit hit the fan. 

He shrugged his shoulders and pulled his hands out from under his arms to entwine their fingers together. It was so fucking sweet and good and loving that Roy felt his heart break a little and want to shout what the fuck they were doing together. Did it all mean the same chest fluttering feelings to Jason as it did to Roy. He hoped so, fuck. 

“Of course Roy.” Jason’s smile stayed on his face. 

They stood there for a few minutes before Jason sighed, kissed the back of Roy’s hand and declared it was time to go and do human, adult shit and whatever the hell Roy did. Roy scoffed and punched his shoulder, the moment broken. 

So off they went. 

Roy stuck to his workroom, going through the motions, paying rapt attention to his project. At times he grew irritated, tempted to throw a fit, throw something off his desk like he’d seen Lian do sometimes when she didn’t know how to express her anger, but he kept his cool. Like a responsible adult. Cause that was him- what he wanted to be. Cool headed. Responsible. Better than Queen. 

Was it a bit petty that, in his head, his goal was to walk up to Oliver Queen, head held high and able to say with all honesty that Roy Harper was a better man than him? A genuinely good father, someone who went through hell and back, fucking happy, something that Queen would never really have or be. It was a little petty. Jason would live for it, the petty, dramatic gay asshole he was.

God Roy lo-

“Don’t go there, Roy,” He hissed to himself under his breath as he rubbed his eyes and cheeks. Why did he have to get sappy about Jason Todd about ten times a day and not just enjoy that he even had the man in his life? He was pathetic as fuck. For caring so much, for being so scared and fuck. Maybe he should be a fucking responsible adult and talk to Jason. 

Yeah, Roy was not close to his goal yet. 

The arrow was coming along nicely, and he was able to keep the arrow straight even with compact little container attached to it. He still had to add in the substance (which he was still a bit reluctant to call Wally, but he really should get to that if he actually wanted to arrow done) and then assess if it would hold, be a good amount to use, all that technical stuff before he could use it out in the field. 

“Looking good.” Jason’s deep voice sounded from the doorway. Roy glanced over to see the younger man leaning against the door frame, his helmet dangling in his right hand, his leather jacket discarded, leaving him in that sexy Red Hood top with his sleeves pushed up. If Roy admired those large biceps of his, well, that was a given when around Jason Todd. 

“Me or the arrow?” Roy grinned as he set his project down. He walked over to Jay and set his hands on the other man's hips. Jason nipped at his lips before giving him a chaste kiss and pulling back.  _ Fuck.  _

“Mmm, both.”

Well, fuck. 

Instead of hitting his head against the wall, or something equally dumb, in frustration, Roy simply grinned, muttering out, “Yeah, yeah, thought so.” Jay laughed at him and they kissed again, for a little bit longer. This was so fucking domestic, Roy should really talk to Jason sometimes before he died of high blood pressure or whatever from all this worrying about their kinda sorta relationship. “What time’s it?” 

“Almost time to pick up the baby. Oh- I already picked up some groceries. And I stopped by Paula’s balready, she said that Lian’s been _ extremely  _ good this week, so I was thinking we can stop and by some donuts or  _ pan dulce _ on the walk home. What you think?” Jason set his helmet down onto the closet table and turned back to him. His hands gripped the tables edge, causing those glorious, beautiful biceps of his to flex slightly.

“I think this is your excuse for some  _ pan _ .” Jay just smirked, but didn’t deny a thing. “But, I totally agree with you. Let’s get some.” 

Jason closed his eyes, whispering a small, excited “yes” under his breath. God, what a fucking dork. Was he always like this? Roy could vaguely remember Dick talking about Jay, back when he was his best friend’s kid brother who everyone wasn’t quite fond of (except for him, Donna, and Koriand’r the few times they had met him), before the shocking news of his sudden murder. A lot of it was Dick complaining, since he was in a bad place with the Bat at the time, though there was times he would laugh and repeat something stupidly dorky the (then) new Robin had said. 

They kissed some more before Jason changed into clothes appropriate for a regular, everyday civilian (a pair of ripped jeans, a red Wonder Woman t-shirt, and one of his tattered leather jackets). Roy made fun of him for shopping in broad daylight as the Hood, which he received the bird for in return. The jacket of Jay’s smelled a bit like cigarettes once Roy stepped close to him, from all the smoking Jason had done over the years, but the scent was slowly fading now that he had quit. He had mentioned a few times wanting to buy a new jacket, so Roy had been searching online for one that Jay might like. He was still looking, hopefully he’d find one by Christmas. 

The walk to the school was twenty minutes from the apartment. Jason had assured him that it was one of the better schools, since the surrounding neighborhoods and businesses were decent. Helped that Red Hood was known to pass by through there from time to time. 

The two of them waited, leaning against the front office building. Other parents were around, checking their phones or shushing the kids they kept in strollers. Roy spotted one of Lian’s friends parents and gave them a small smile in hello. 

Jason slung his arm around Roy when the school bell sounded off. This was the tricky part- pick up, sorting through hundreds of children for one child. They kept their sharp eyes on the lookout for Lian’s black hair and bright red Pokemon backpack. Roy spotted Lian right when she did. She grinned at him and bounded over. 

“Daddy! JJ!” Lian exclaimed, wrapping her small arms around Roy first, then Jason. 

“Hey baby, how was school?” Jason asked as he took Lian’s bag for her, slinging it over his arm. He placed his left hand in between Roy’s shoulder blades as they began to walk. Lian swung her and Roy’s arms as high as she could reach as she babbled out her answer. 

“- and since my table finished first and quietly, Mr. Gomez gave us a prize from the treasure box! I put it in my backpack, so I’ll show you once I get home.” Lian happily reported to them. She pursed her lips when they made a turn that wasn’t towards the apartment. “Dad, isn’t home that way?” She turned her little body around to point towards the street. 

“Yeah, it is. But Jay and I heard how good you’ve been from your  _ bà.  _ So we thought you’d like a special treat.” Roy smiled down at his daughter.

She seemed to process his words for a second before squeezing his hand tightly. “More special than spending the night with you and JJ? Ice cream? Oh! Pizza?” 

Both men indulged her questions, but didn’t answer her. Jason was giving her that fond look of his. Roy’s heart tightened and he felt so damned content in this moment- with his beautiful, smart, daughter and his best friend. As he watched Jay talk to his daughter, that cute little smile on his face, his daughter looking up at him with a love of her own Roy knew how screwed he was. He was in love with Jason Peter Todd, had been for a while now. He didn’t know shit about where this relationship would go, if he could even bring himself to talk to the other man to know what their relationship even was, but he knew he loved where he was now. 

God, he finally admitted it to himself. 

Cool. Shit. Well, fuck it. 

When they reached the  _ panaderia  _ Lian pulled on Roy’s arm to point out which ones she wanted. She and Jay loved the  _ conchas  _ and  _ cuernos  _ the most, so they bought mostly those with two  _ besos  _ for Roy. Jason had a quick conversation with the pretty girl behind the counter, a girl named Chela with large hoop earrings who would let Jason borrow books from her from time, before giving her a fist bump and leaving. She waved bye to them. 

The three of them hurriedly walked back home, excited to indulge on the sweet bread. Once back home, they let Lian eat a piece as she finished up her homework. They lingered in the kitchen, talking in soft, low voices about nonsense. At some point, Roy held up a  _ beso  _ to Jay, asking “Want a  _ beso _ ?” Jason smirked, leaned forward, and gently kissed his lips. 

Roy’s brain just might have short circuited at that for a few moments. 

He sputtered, especially when he heard Lian giggle at him (after yelling out a disgusted ‘ew!’) from over at the table. Jason just pulled back and said, “You asked if I wanted a kiss.” 

One way or another Jason was going to kill him holy shit. This domestic home life was so- nice. Roy stuck his tongue out at Jay before reaching behind him for a glass of almond milk. 

“Dad?” Lian asked as she dug through her backpack to grab a marker for her homework. Roy set his glass down. 

“Yeah Lian?” 

She held up the red marker, uncapped it, and scribbled a bit on a piece of paper before standing back up and walking over to her work. “I love you.” She said it with a grin, her black bangs falling over her bright eyes. Roy came up to her, leaned down, and gave her a big, smacking kiss on her forehead. His daughter groaned and whined, but was grinning at him. 

“I love you too Lian.” He looked over at Jason, who was leaning back at the counter, smiling.

After Lian finished her homework, she dragged them into playing Uno with her. Every time she won she would stand up, cheer, and dance around the room. When they grew tired of the game, they let Lian put on Cartoon Network and watch episodes of a rebooted show that used to be popular when Roy was younger. The new version wasn’t the best, but it was funny from time to time and his daughter liked it, so he went through the agonizing bright colors and nonsense storylines. On his left side, Lian was cuddling him, his right was Jason. 

Near bedtime, Lian went to take a quick shower. They kept the bathroom door open, slightly paranoid in case she tripped or accidently locked herself in, since she had trouble with doors from time to time. Roy and Jason just sat quietly, listening to the water falling into the tub. 

“Daddy? Can you help me dry my hair?” Lian called out. Roy helped his daughter into her loose t-shirt and dried her hair as best he could. She kept on putting locks of her hair in her mouth to suck out the water. Roy scolded her and she reluctantly stopped. She went to bed no problem, Roy tucking her into her bed and making sure to punch the lights out of any little monster hiding under her bed or behind her dresser. He turned on her nightlight, gave her a kiss goodnight, then headed over to his room. 

Jason was sitting up, reading a book. His fingers were pulling and twisting out his white locks of hair. Roy shoved off his pants, threw them off to the side, and stumbled over to the beautiful, wonderful man in his bed. He kissed the white skin on Jason’s forehead, a stain from death. Jason purred and leaned forward. He set his book down and dragged Roy onto him. Roy complied, kissing all over Jay’s face. From his nose to his cheeks to his jaw. Jason hummed contentedly. Roy’s lips met his and they kissed for a few minutes before they broke away. 

“How was your day?” Roy asked as he rolled off of Jay. He stayed on his side, left elbow up, his head resting on his hand as he stared at the other man. 

“Good. Gotta kiss the hottest guy in Gotham, ate some  _ pan _ , kicked a few asses. Good day, all in all.” Jason smirked, one of eyes squinted and an eyebrow tilted up just so. 

Roy laughed. “Hey, you know what man? I totally kissed the hottest guy in Gotham today too! Damn, that’s crazy as hell.” Jason huffed out a chuckle and rolled his eyes, as though he didn’t know just how fucking hot he was. An adonis, someone who Roy still couldn’t believe gave him the light of day. Roy was skinny and gangly, especially so when he had been an addict, and later as an alcoholic. He was healthier now, better looking, stronger. Mostly with the help and support Jason has been giving him. 

Fuck, Jason was such a good person. He had quit drinking and smoking for Roy, to help him out in the process of becoming sober. He stayed by his side. Helped care for his daughter. Roy blinked back a sudden wave of tears, hoping his partner hadn’t seen his watery eyes. 

“Chela was telling me about her getting her GED.” Jay mumbled, throwing his arm over his eyes. “Got me thinking.”

Roy perked up. “Getting your own? Jason, you should do it.”

Jason smiled. He didn’t move his arm. “You sure it’s not stupid? I mean… I died. I haven’t really studied the quadratic formula or whatever the fuck since I got back. Plus, I mean, could I really?” A frown made its way back on his face. 

“Jason. You love learning. You’re so smart. I think you should do it. If you have a chance to further your education, Jason, you have to try. I remember Dick talking about how he would give you his psychology textbooks from his college classes. God, I thought you were a weird kid.” Roy laughed. Surprisingly, Jason joined in. He raised his arm and instead placed it on the side of Roy’s face. His thumb caressed Roy’s cheek. 

“Damn Roy. You’re so good to me.” Jason whispered, his voice full of emotion. They stood still, staring. Roy knew, he thought, he hoped, through that look that Jason felt the exact same as Roy did for him.Without much thought, Roy leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Jason’s stubbled cheek. 

“Back atcha.” He muttered, pressing his lips onto his cheek. They closed their eyes and stayed close. 

He was half asleep when he heard the door open, tentatively. Both Roy and Jay raised their heads to see the little black haired head of Lian. 

“Hey baby, what’s wrong?” Jason’s voice was rough with sleepiness, his voice only a mumble. Lian shut the door, her bare feet padding along on the hardwood floors.

“Can I sleep with you and Daddy?” Lian asked, her hands on the mattress, waiting to be allowed to come up. Both men made assurances that she could sleep in bed with them. Roy’s daughter climbed up, making small puffing noises as she did so. She settled herself between Roy and Jason, gathering up as much of the blankets as she could. 

Roy pushed back her bangs and kissed her forehead. “Sleep good Lian. JJ and I are here to keep you safe.” His daughter made a noise of understanding before curling up towards her father. Roy wrapped his arm around her, his hand coming up to hold Jay’s. The man entwined their fingers and schooched closer to them, creating a ball of warmth around Lian. 

As Roy closed his eyes, he knew this was what he wanted. He hoped Jason felt the same. They always had the next days to come to learn and talk and be. 

**Author's Note:**

> Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but Bà means maternal grandmother in Vietnamese. The Spanish words are sweet bread (pan dulce), bread store (panaderia), shell (concha), and horn (cuerno). The name Chela is said how it looks and is a nickname for Graciela (my middle name is actually Grace, so my grandpa has called me Chela all my life, and I just learned like a year or two ago why lmao). 
> 
> I didn't mean for Roy to finally admit to loving Jason, but damn, Jay kept on being so good??? I swear writing fic is like half the will of the character. I loved writing this, especially just how soft and good they were, like damn. It was so nice to write and think of and imagine. 
> 
> If you've read my previous fic to this series, you'll notice that despite quitting smoking, Jason is smoking on Christmas. That is in part because I do these nonlinear and only just thought of having him quit in solidarity with Roy later. So let's assume it was stress that made Jason cave in and buy a pack. He totally felt bad about it though.
> 
> Oh!! Dinah's unread reply: just tell him or wait till you've already been together forever that that's enough said
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I did. Please comment, press kudos, and read the others in this series if you did! love you all <3


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